Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

ITW opened at $256.46 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $258.24 and its 200-day moving average is $260.45. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.